


Stuck with You

by halcyonhowl (foxmoon)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 13:10:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21302627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxmoon/pseuds/halcyonhowl
Summary: Killian's on her way up to visit the Voidfish for a little introspection when Carey surprises her on the elevator ride up. Then it gets stuck.
Relationships: Carey Fangbattle/Killian
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	Stuck with You

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for neurodivergent-angus on Tumblr for the prompt: stuck in an elevator.

Killian enters the elevator that leads to the Voidfish’s chamber. It’s not something she does often, but she finds it soothing to gaze up at the mysterious creature and just... wonder. She wonders about all the people down below who are able to go about with minds free of all the horrors of war. She wonders what the world would be like if the relics were never made. The voidfish doesn’t speak to her or offer answers, but she’s soothed nonetheless.

The elevator doors are nearly closed when a dagger wedges between them. The blade wiggles, and the door’s mechanism releases, causing it to reopen. Carey is there on the other side, spinning the dagger and sheathing it in one fluid motion.

“You’re not going up there alone this time,” she says. 

Killian steps aside so that Carey can join her in the elevator. “I thought you found it too creepy.”

The elevator closes and begins to travel upward.

“Well, that’s before you were, um.” She rubs the back of her head. “That’s before there was–well. Nah I’m good.” She grins, all pointy teeth and gleaming scales. 

Killian’s cheeks grow warm at the sheer cuteness of her grin, but she tries to seem unaffected. “Oh, yeah. It’s less eerie if you’re not alone. Usually Johann’s up there so it’s not so bad.”

“Oh right, Johann’s there.” Carey looks upward and off to the side.

Killian tries not to read too much into that lilt of jealousy in her voice. Carey isn’t new to the Bureau, but it’s only recently that she’s been assigned on missions with Killian. The Director mentioned how well they work together, and that’s true. They fell in sync with one another faster than she has with past regulators. But lately Killian has been feeling something a bit more than just admiration. There’s that in spades, of course, but she can’t stop thinking about her, and can’t stop imagining what it would be like if they were just… more. She wants to know her better. Like,  _ know her  _ know her. She was planning on doing a bit of wondering on that, too, up there with the giant space jellyfish. 

Killian’s about to say something to cut through the weird tension when the elevator jerks to a stop. “Oh, sh-shit.” She reflexively crouches, and puts her arm out to brace Carey. There’s a sound like gears clicking for a few seconds before the elevator falls silent. A deep and hollow twang follows from somewhere in the elevator shaft.

Killian quickly pulls her arm away from where it’s resting protectively across Carey’s chest. “S-sorry, dealt with too many surprise attacks lately.”

Carey, whom Killian knows is perfectly capable of bracing herself, laughs nervously. “It’s cool.”

They stand awkwardly for half a minute before they both start taking turns trying to activate the control panel.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Carey presses her bracer to the panel, and again, nothing happens. She groans. “Greeaaat. It’s stuck.”

They bang on the door and shout for help, but no one responds. Five minutes pass, ten minutes, and it still doesn’t budge.

“It’s okay, Johann’s up there,” Killian says and takes a deep breath, more to reassure herself. “At some point he’ll try to use the elevator, and he’ll realize it’s stuck.” 

Carey looks up at the ceiling and rubs her chin in thought. “If I got on your shoulders, I could probably climb out through the top.”

“Then what?”

“Well there’s gotta be some pulley rope in there, yeah? Anyway, I’m great at climbing,” she smiles. 

“True. You wouldn’t even need the rope.”

Carey beams. “We’d be out in a snap.”

Killian smiles back just as her heart sinks. This is one of those situations that you only read in cheesy books or hear in bard songs. Trapped in a small space with the object of one’s affection, no choice but to get closer. They could sit and talk for hours about everything that has nothing to do with work. They could get closer. Intimately so. Killian could find out if the gay vibe she’s been picking up is for real.

“Or, we could just have a seat and wait for Johann,” Carey says, gaze still trained upward. 

“Yeah, I’m down for that!” Killian starts to sit, then cringes inwardly about how fast and obvious that came across.

Carey sighs and takes a seat right in the middle. Her tail curls up around to rest by her left thigh. “Johann it is.”

Okay that was  _ not  _ what Killian meant. She really needs to clear up this Johann misunderstanding, but what if it’s just her imagination? “We’re probably gonna just talk up there anyway. Why not do it here?” She offers, hoping the subtlety helps.

Carey smiles softly, but doesn’t look over at her. Her tail lifts and taps slowly on the floor a few times, much like a cat. 

Killian has noticed that she does this when she’s nervous.  _ So. Fucking. Cute.  _ She should just take a godsdamn seat, but there’s really nowhere to sit that might convey some hidden meaning she either intends or doesn’t intend. She can’t sit against the door in case it opens. She can’t sit with her back to the side walls or it looks like all she wants to do is stare at Carey–and, like, sure, that’s not a bad option. She could sit smack in the middle right next to her, but wouldn’t that seem too overeager? With all the other places to sit, she sits right up on her? If she sat against the back wall, then her back would be to her, and that seems a bit unfriendly. She mulls over it an embarrassing amount of time before she notices that Carey is staring up at her.

“Hey, space cadet. Sit,” she pats the floor next to her, opposite her tail. “I only bite if you ask, or if you’re attacking me.” 

Killian blinks as she slowly lowers herself to the spot offered to her. She tucks her hair behind her ear. Untucks it. Tucks it back again. Keeps messing with her godsdamn hair. Finally she blows upward, sending strands flying messily around her face. “Sorry, Carey. I’m sure this wasn’t how you wanted to spend your night.”

Carey’s chin rests on her palm, and her elbow’s propped on her knee. Her gaze is half-lidded as she watches Killian. A bit of a dopey smile curls at the corner of her snout. “I didn’t really have any plans. Why do you go up there anyway?”

“I dunno. I guess it helps me keep focused on why we do this in the first place.”

“Yeah. Part of me doesn’t like it. Feels wrong, you know? To take away people’s memories without them knowing.”

“That’s when you have to look at the bigger picture, but that’s not always easy. Usually it just feels cruel.” Killian exhales slowly, trying to keep all the painful memories from surfacing at once. “In the long run, I just have to believe that it’s for the better of all of us. I trust the director. I trust the Bureau…”

“The way I look at it is, we’re the checks on the balance, right? We go out there and reign in wayward folks who might otherwise fall victim to the relics power or whatever. I focus in on what I’m here to do. I make sure we live to fight another day, and try not to think about the bigger picture too much. It’s easy peasy like that.” Carey’s smile broadens.

Killian looks over at her and smiles softly. “Yeah, I like that way of thinking of it. I try to do that too, normally.”

“I know. It’s what you told me on our first mission together. Stuck with me.” Carey shifted in place, and turned a little more towards Killian. “Hey, I gotta question to ask you. You don’t have to answer. It’s stupid.”

Killian’s stomach started to slowly twist. “Okay, sure.”

“Do you have a thing for Johann? Cause like, I mean… were you going up there to chat with him or whatever?”

Killian couldn’t help but laugh. “I–um—” 

“See, it was stupid, don’t answer. Fuck.” Carey covers her eyes with her clawed hand. Her scales ruffle out a little as she huffs.

“No. No way. He’s not my type, like at all,” Killian said in a rush. “I mean, I love him to bits, but. Yeah. He’s a–he’s a dude.”

Carey’s eyes soften and she lets out a little exhale. She opens her mouth to say something, when the elevator clicks a few times. There’s a resonant whirring sound from somewhere behind the walls. A little shake precedes them finally moving upward again.

Carey jumps up to her feet and holds out her hand to Killian. “Hell yeah! Let’s go see the weird jellyfish.”

Killian takes her hand and stands to tower over her. Carey’s hand lingers in hers, before she reluctantly withdraws it and runs it through her hair. She finds she suddenly misses being able to look directly into her eyes. It doesn’t matter. Something has shifted between them, and it’s… it’s so good. 


End file.
